Willis Reed, Jr

Willis Reed Jr. is a retired American basketball player. This 6 feet 9 inches retired American basketball player spent his entire professional playing career with the New York Knicks and was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Reed made an immediate impact with the Knicks and in 1965; he scored 46 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. In this season, he ranked seventh in the NBA with 19.5 points per game and fifth in rebounding with 14.7 rebounds per game.

Throughout his career, he proved to be a clutch performer. He scored total ppg of 18.7, rpg of 12.9 and rebounds of 8,414. During his first season with the Knicks, he played power forward and gained fame as the starting center. Despite his height, he made up for his lack of height by playing a physical game and ending seasons with respectable averages in blocking and rebounding with opponents like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who stood 7-1 and 7-2. Reed scored 21.1 points per game in 1968-69 and grabbed a record of 1,191 rebounds, with an average of 14.5 rebounds per game.

Reed continued to make annual appearances in the NBA All-Star Game. In 1969-70 season, the Knicks won a franchise record of 60 games and set the then NBA record with an 18 game win streak. Willis played a significant role in the Knick success and has won many awards and titles.

He is widely known as one of the greatest Knicks ever with the likes of Patrick Ewing and Walt Frazier. In a 1997 poll which entitled the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All Time Team, Reed was selected as one of the fifty greatest players in NBA history.

Career Highlights

In 1970, 1973, he won NBA Champion twice. From 1965–1971, he won the NBA All-Star. In 1965, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year and by 1970, he got the NBA MVP award along with NBA All-Star Game MVP. Also, in 1970 and 1973, he got twice NBA Finals MVP. NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, New York Knicks #19 retired and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in1982 are some of the other highlights.